A/HRC/39/31 53. Mr. Rojas-Aravena noted that the University for Peace, together with Paz Sin Fronteras and the UNESCO Chair on Peace at Abat Oliba University, had published a book on the past, present and future of the right to peace. 6 In order to better understand the Declaration, the book explored several important developments in international law, such as the Declaration on the Preparation of Societies for Life in Peace (1978), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981), the Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace (1984) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Human Rights Declaration (2012). The book’s authors had also conducted a detailed review of the codification process of the right to peace, initiated by the Commission on Human Rights and continued by the Human Rights Council, following the initial impulse of UNESCO. The valuable work carried out in that field by the Advisory Committee and the open-ended intergovernmental working group on the draft United Nations declaration on the right to peace were also analysed. Additionally, the book demonstrated the added value of the Declaration in the field of human rights, fundamental freedoms, and culture of peace. 54. Mr. Rojas-Aravena reaffirmed the commitment of the University for Peace to education for peace, prevention, non-violence, inclusion, social cohesion, the rule of law, legality and ethics. He stressed the importance of developing education that promoted competencies, values and behaviours that contributed to peace, justice, sustainable development, democracy, human rights, solidarity and the protection of the planet. Promoting and supporting human rights meant building coexistence, cooperation and solidarity, all of which were essential foundations for peace. 55. Achieving and sustaining peace required prevention, the development of new leadership and holistic educational policies on the different tendencies that influenced conflicts and complex crises. The University for Peace had developed programmes for prevention education, carried out through its master’s and doctorate degrees, its customized training courses and its academic publications. The University was educating and training leaders for the prevention, mediation, transformation and resolution of conflicts, and for contributing to post-conflict contexts, all with the aim of achieving sustainable peace. 56. In order to promote and implement the Declaration, Mr. Rojas-Aravena suggested the creation by the Council of a biannual forum for education for peace and human rights. That could be a space for dialogue and interaction between different entities of the United Nations system and other stakeholders, including civil society and grass-roots organizations, on the different issues related to peace and human rights. The structure of the forum would be inspired by best practices and the previous experience of the United Nations and other inclusive global forums. 57. Furthermore, Mr. Rojas-Aravena recommended establishing, under the leadership of the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, a working group comprised of United Nations entities based in Geneva that would meet annually to analyse United Nations best practices on peace education. The results of those meetings could be compiled into an annual publication, which would increase the possibility of those best practices being replicated worldwide. 58. In addition, he suggested creating an educational museum for peace and a multicultural space for dialogue between all stakeholders, particularly youth. The University for Peace offered its campus in Costa Rica as a place for dialogue, the exchange of mutual knowledge and the generation of trust and public policy. Peace education should also be included in the monitoring and implementation mechanisms of the World Programme for Human Rights Education. In that context, the following areas should be focused on: the creation of an annual peace education award; the organization of dialogues and regional consultations in the field of irenology (the study of peace); the prevention of violent extremism; the promotion of cultural diversity; actions to combat racism, intolerance and xenophobia; the integration of a course on education for global citizenship in schools; and promoting studies on non-violent communication and education for peace in university curricula. 6 Christian Guillermet-Fernández and David Fernández Puyana, with the contribution of Miguel Bosé, The Right to Peace: Past, Present and Future (San José, 2017). 11

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